Damning Nathan Cleary footage: Maroons reveal blueprint to beating Penrith

These are the images and video that show Penrith’s NRL rivals how to take down the premiers - and they have Billy Slater to thank. Watch the damning footage.

Billy Slater has revealed to the entire NRL the secret to beating Penrith – bash Nathan Cleary.

After what is being rated Cleary’s most forgettable Origin performance, these images show that Queensland’s battle plan to punish the Blues’ star halfback was carried out with military-like precision.

And Fox Sports Stats show that no NRL player this year has been “contacted” as many times in attempts to apply kick pressure.

The Maroons went after Cleary like he’s never been targeted before. They didn’t just put pressure on his kicks but whacked him as often as they could.

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The Maroons hit Nathan Cleary at every opportunity. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty

They got to Cleary on seven of the 13 occasions throughout the game. The most times Cleary had previously been “contacted” in a game this year was four.

Whether it was Pat Carrigan, Lindsay Collins, Reuben Cotter, Kurt Capewell or Ben Hunt, they hammered him every chance they got.

At Penrith, Cleary has the likes of James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota to help protect him and a game plan to combat kick pressure.

On Wednesday night, Cleary was let down by his NSW middle forwards.

It didn’t help Cleary that Queensland also had great success slowing down the ruck, which allowed their kick chasers precious extra time to get to their target.

Cleary was clearly rattled by the extra attention. It ­affected other areas of his game, which in turn had a huge knock-on effect on the Blues’ overall attack.

Cotter pressures Nathan Cleary. Picture: Supplied

Nathan Cleary copped kick pressure from the Maroons. Picture: Supplied

“We lost and anytime a team loses I take that personally,’’ Cleary said. “I didn’t play the way I wanted to. It’s a lesson. It’s do-or-die now.

“I can’t change what happened out there but I can change what I do leading into the next Origin and club game. I will review it and go more in-depth with where I can get better.

They probably owned their moments better than we did and that’s on me just as much as the rest of the team.”

Queensland assistant coach Cameron Smith said the Maroons had hatched a plan at halftime to target Cleary.

“He’s a great kicker under pressure because he works hard at that part of his game,” Smith told SEN.

“There was some OK kick pressure in the first half. In the second half, Queensland got to him when he was kicking the ball.

“Which meant that the back three for Queensland, particularly Kalyn Ponga, he was able to get the ball into really good field position.

“Queensland could transition straight from defence into attack. We had to (go to work on Cleary).”

Mark Geyer was shocked by how easily Queensland targeted Cleary.

“NSW didn’t have a plan B for Nathan Cleary’s kicking game,” Geyer told Triple M. “They hassled him all night.

“In fact, I’ve never seen Nathan Cleary after a game so battered and bruised.

“ He didn’t get much protection from his big boys. (Queensland) had a really good game plan to target him.”

When Cleary has an off game it ­almost always corresponds with teams which have upped the pressure on his kicks. Melbourne’s Christian Welch has had great success targeting Cleary in big games.

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Souths also did it in last year’s finals series, although they didn’t have the same luck in the grand final.

On this occasion it looked as though every Queensland forward had been sent out with the same specific ­instructions.

The obvious question in club land is which teams can do what the Maroons did against a Panthers side that gets such great momentum for Cleary to get away his kicks.

You can be certain that teams will try to follow Slater’s blueprint in an attempt to halt a Panthers juggernaut that until now has looked just about ­unstoppable.

CLEARLY: BLUES LOSS IS ON ME

- Dean Ritchie

In an extraordinary self-appraisal, NSW halfback Nathan Cleary claimed he was given a “kick-up the backside” in State of Origin I before declaring: “I wasn’t good enough - I’ve got to be better.”

Cleary’s kicking game under pressure was low-quality while he clearly lost an individual battle with his Queensland opponent, Daly Cherry-Evans.

And Cleary wasn’t about to conceal his dismay, telling The Daily Telegraph he was personally gutted after NSW’s 16-10 loss on Wednesday night.

“You’ve never fully got the game worked out. When you think you’re going all right then a game like this happens. Sometimes it’s not a bad thing - it’s a reality check that I need to get better,” Cleary said.

“(I take) it very hard. I didn’t play well enough and that affects the result. It’s on me to get better. If I’m better, it lifts the team. My performance can lift others around me and I wasn’t good enough.

“Sometimes there’s a little kick up the backside (as a reminder) that I do need to be better and I will be.

“We lost and anytime a team loses I take that personally. I definitely didn’t play the way I wanted to, it’s a lesson. It’s do-or-die now.

“I can’t change what happened out there but I can change what I do leading into the next Origin and club game. I will review it and go more in-depth with where I can get better. They probably owned their moments better than we did and that’s on me just as much as the rest of the team.”

Asked did he personally carry the weight of Wednesday night’s loss, Cleary said: “I think you have to, especially as a halfback and leader in the team.

“But win or lose, I will get in the next day and keep trying to be better and it will be no different this time. I can’t be too focused on the result. I have to be process driven.

“We probably just missed a few moments and Queensland made the most of them. You don’t get many opportunities in Origin footy. That is something we’ll have to be better at and I’m going to have to be better at. “

Cleary has been panned for his display although NSW offered up several players who could have lifted to another level.

Nathan Cleary copped a battering from the Maroons.

The Blues had reason to complain about a series of moments which went against them but players weren’t searching for excuses. Maroons stars Cherry-Evans and Cam Munster played some wonderful eyes-up football.

“I thought their spine played well. They were all kind of around the ball and their forwards laid a good platform too. It’s a tough game and that’s what Origin is about,” Cleary said.

“We found that (energy) at the end. I’m pretty proud to be part of a team that is swinging right until the end. We just had to do it earlier, do it as a team and stay connected. I’ve got to drive that too.

“It’s about picking your times as well. That’s Origin and you have to take those moments and I thought Cam and Daly did that really well. I’ve got to do that better.”

Panthers group CEO Brian Fletcher defended and supported Cleary.

“Nathan is like everyone else – he will be hurting from the defeat – but he will bounce back quickly,” Fletcher said.

“He’s one of the best players in the world isn’t he? They don’t have 100 per cent performances every game but you couldn’t bag any players out of that game. It was such an intense and quick game. Nathan didn’t have a lot of luck with his kicks.

“The gap was just six points and NSW could have scored with a minute to go and were inches short. It’s pretty hard to criticise players in that match. That was a great game of footy.”

NSW will now have to replicate 2019 when the Blues were one-down going to Perth before winning the final two games to secure the series.

“It’s good to know we can do it but that’s in the past and we have to focus on what’s coming up,” Cleary said. “We have to drive that belief in the group. At the end of the day, we had to win two games anyway.”

While Jack Wighton was arguably NSW best, the Blues clearly missed the power and class of injured stars Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell.

“They are outstanding players but I thought ‘Jackie’ Wighton was enormous. He looked really dangerous out there,” Cleary said. “As much as we’d love to have Latrell and Tommy out there, we don’t. I thought our centres did well and it’s something we have to adapt to.”

Originally published as Damning Nathan Cleary footage: Maroons reveal blueprint to beating Penrith